


The Pink Flamingo

by Shirazkindofgirl



Category: Holby City
Genre: Alcohol, Berena Appreciation Week 2018, Cheesy Music, Day Four Prompt: AU, F/F, Tacky Cocktail Bars, berena - Freeform, cocktails
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 08:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15703158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shirazkindofgirl/pseuds/Shirazkindofgirl
Summary: Serena meets the owner of the tackiest cocktail bar in Holby.





	The Pink Flamingo

It had all been Sian’s idea, typical really. She had phoned Serena one evening and caught her when Serena had been drinking and feeling a little low. Sian had decided that what they needed most was to hit the town and enjoy themselves, and so it was that Sian now found herself dragging a reluctant Serena for a night out. Post-divorce, Serena had thrown herself into her work, rarely taking a day off and Sian had decided enough was enough. They had ended up at The Pink Flamingo Cocktail Bar, Sian had visited the bar before, “You’ll love it, Serena. The atmosphere is great.” Serena knew that was Sian code for she’d pulled a hot guy. 

The persuading factor was the bar having an extensive cocktail list. If they didn’t have a decent Shiraz, Serena could at least get trashed on brightly coloured overly sweet alcoholic beverages. 

The garish décor did nothing to inspire her as the pair walked through the door. Loud, cheesy music played on the speaker system and Serena knew she’d be leaving the venue with a headache either alcohol induced, or noise related.

Stepping up to the bar, Sian handed Serena a cocktail list. Serena held the list loosely between her fingers, the plastic felt slightly sticky to the touch, obviously having had one too many drinks spilled over the surface. Serena didn’t have a clue what most of the cocktails were and the low-level lighting of the bar area did not help her to read the menu. She’d heard of a few of the well knowns ones, of course, but some of the others … what the heck was a Monkey Gland or a Twelve Mile Limit any way? Serena decided to go for something she knew and picked a Manhattan for her first drink. Sian was already working her own brand of magic on the young bar assistant and sighing to herself, Serena glanced around. Her eyes met and held with a spikey-haired blonde woman at the end of the bar. It was dark enough in the corner where the woman sat that Serena couldn’t really make out what she was wearing, but Serena could see well enough to appreciate the tattoos adoring the woman’s arms. Serena licked her lips. It was a little-known fact that Serena had a bit of a thing for tattoos. The woman quirked her eyebrow and Serena raised hers in turn. 

The moment was broken when Sian cleared her throat and handed Serena her drink. They clinked glasses and Sian indicated they should move to a booth. This was going to be a long night and Serena decided that she may as well be comfortable. Taking a seat, Serena angled herself so that she could still see the blonde woman. She had no idea why she was so fascinated with this lady, other than her tattoos, of course, but the view was wonderful, and it didn’t appear as if the woman was waiting for any one. Maybe turning 50 would be the start of something new Serena thought to herself, maybe she should consider getting herself a tattoo, just a small one, somewhere only a select few people would ever see it.

Predictably, the evening continued in much the same way as any other night Serena had been out with Sian. Brightly coloured drinks were consumed, Sian became louder and more outrageous and garnered the attention of more than one young man, stepping up to dance with anyone who asked her. Serena sat back in her seat and sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to have fun anymore, she was “Serena ballerina” after all, it was just that the idea of taking any man home with her held very little appeal these days. Serena looked over to where the blonde woman was sitting. Serena could see that she was working her thumb under the label of her beer bottle and gradually loosening the paper. As Serena continued to watch the woman, she motioned to the bar assistant and a whispered conversation ensued. Serena couldn’t tell from this distance what was being said, but the bar assistant smiled, nodded and wandered off to serve another customer.

Serena finished her cocktail, a bright blue concoction, aptly named a “Blue Lagoon” and swept her eyes over the dance floor, the music playing had changed to a pounding beat and she could see Sian in the middle of the dance floor, gyrating with a young man who looked to be no more than Elinor’s age. Serena rolled her eyes good-naturedly and grabbing her empty glass, she made her way to the bar and waited to be served.

“What’ll it be this time, love?” the bar assistant asked.

“A Tequila Sunrise, please.” Serena answered and reached into her purse for some cash.

The bar assistant shook his head, “this one has already been paid for.” He said, placing the drink in front of Serena.

“Oh, by who?” Serena asked, although she thought she could make a fairly reasonable assumption as to what the answer would be.

“Lady at the end of the bar.” The young bar assistant gestured to where the blonde woman sat.

“Okay, thanks.” Serena muttered quietly and slowly turned her head to look along the bar.

The blonde gestured for Serena to come closer and thinking she had nothing to lose, Serena edged her way around to where the blonde sat. Dark eyes tracked her progress and when Serena was close enough, the blonde hooked her foot around the bar stool next to her and pulled it a little further out from the bar. Serena took a seat and placed her drink on the bar in front of her.

“Thanks for the drink.” She said with a smile, “Although, I don’t usually allow strangers to buy me a drink without knowing their names first.”

The blonde held out her hand, “Bernie Wolfe.” 

Serena, took the proffered hand in her own, noticing the smoothness of the skin and the long, delicate fingers, adorned by two large silver rings. “Serena Campbell.” The silver bangles on Bernie’s wrists jangled as the pair shook hands.

Neither women noticed how long they had been holding hands, until the blonde cleared her throat and lifted her beer bottle to take a drink. Serena couldn’t help but stare at the pale skin of Bernie’s throat as she swallowed. Serena took a sip of her drink and tried to calm herself. She had never reacted in quite such a visceral way to a woman before. Although, thinking back there had been that time at University and one other occasion where she had kissed a woman at a party in Stepney. There was just something about Bernie that attracted Serena in the same way a moth is attracted to a flame. There was almost a hint of something dangerous about Bernie and Serena was finding it hard to resist.

Serena was drawn from her musings by Bernie’s voice in her ear, “so what brings you here tonight?”

“My friend, Sian, thought it would be a great idea for me to have a night out. I’ve been working long hours and she thinks I need to have some fun. Although, I’m not sure Sian and I use the same definition of fun.” Serena replied, gesturing towards the dance floor.

Bernie grinned, “She does seem to be enjoying herself.”

“Do you come here often?” Serena heard herself say. She cringed at the cheesy sounding line and took another sip of her drink.

“I’m here most nights.” Bernie replied, “Comes with the territory when you own the place.”

“So, you’re sitting here drinking your profits away? That doesn’t sound like good business practice.” 

“It’s always quiet on Tuesdays and my sitting here drinking is partly your fault.” Bernie smiled behind her beer as she tipped the bottle up and finished the remainder of her drink.

“How is that possibly my fault?” Serena raised her eyebrow and continued to sip at her cocktail.

“I was going to have one drink and then do my paperwork in the back office, but I saw you walk in and decided I’d prefer to spend my evening talking to a beautiful lady.” Bernie shifted a little further forward on her bar stool, “besides, I hate paperwork. How about another drink?”

As she stood up, Serena took in the delights of the outfit Bernie was wearing; a sleeveless t-shirt drew attention to her tattoos, Serena swept her eyes down the length of Bernie’s body, black vinyl leggings and high-heeled ankle boots accentuated Bernie’s long legs. 

Remembering that Bernie had asked a question, Serena raised her eyes to meet those of her drinking companion. She knew she had been caught staring and felt a blush cover her neck and cheeks. 

“Erm … yes, that … that would be nice. Thank you.” Serena managed to get her tongue working enough to respond. 

Smiling, Bernie rounded the corner of the bar and bent down to retrieve another beer from the fridge. Serena groaned quietly as the black vinyl of Bernie’s leggings hugged her rear end in all the right places. Serena wondered what it would feel like to run her hands over Bernie’s arse. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “get a grip Campbell”, she whispered to herself.

Bernie swivelled on the spiked heel of one of her boots and looked over her shoulder at Serena, “Shall I make you our signature cocktail? I don’t think you’ve had one of those tonight.”

“Have you been keeping an eye on my drinking habits, Ms Wolfe?” Serena quirked an eyebrow.

Standing up, Bernie lowered her eyes, “As I said, Tuesday nights are quiet, and you’ve piqued my interest.” She said in a low enough tone that Serena had to strain to hear her above the loud thumping base playing over the speakers.

Serena blushed again. Was Bernie flirting with her? She hoped so. 

Bernie reached over and grabbed a clean glass and a cocktail shaker, “One Pink Flamingo coming right up.”

What followed could have been a scene from that movie where Tom Cruise played a barman. Elinor had insisted that Serena watch it with her when she had applied to work at a University bar. Elinor had been hoping to pick up some cocktail making tips. To Serena’s mind, the movie had lasted longer than Elinor’s interest in the job and anyway, in Serena’s eyes, Bernie Wolfe was much more attractive than Tom Cruise any day of the week. Serena watched in awe as Bernie picked up various bottles, shook, twirled and threw them in the air, catching one behind her back as she spun around and dropped a measure of something alcoholic into the shaker on the bar. She added ice to the glass and then poured the concoction on top, adding a little paper umbrella and a cherry with a flourish. She presented the finished drink to Serena and watched as she took a sip. 

Serena hummed her enjoyment and then, feeling a little cheeky, she picked up the cherry and ran her tongue over the fruit before she popped it into her mouth and sucked it from the stem. She watched avidly as Bernie’s eyes were glued to her actions, noting with delight how dark Bernie’s eyes had become.

Bernie returned to her seat next to Serena and leaned in close to whisper in her ear, “I know your game, Ms Campbell, you’re trying to tease me.”

Serena shivered as Bernie’s hot breath tickled her ear. She tilted her head until her lips were a hairsbreadth from Bernie’s cheek, “Is it working?” she murmured as she placed her hand on Bernie’s thigh and slowly stroked her hand upwards. Serena could feel the warmth of Bernie’s skin beneath the vinyl material. She began to glide one finger along the inseam of Bernie’s leggings, slowing working her way higher. Bernie took a ragged breath and grabbed hold of Serena’s hand, moving it back down towards her knee.

“Don’t start something you aren’t prepared to finish, Campbell.” Bernie breathed.

Serena pulled back far enough to look into Bernie’s eyes. She knew the want and naked desire she saw there reflected her own needs. “Who says I’m not prepared to finish what I’ve started? I’m no quitter.”

As Bernie stood up, Serena’s hand slipped from her knee, “Well then, grab your drink and let’s go.” Bernie reached for her bottle of beer and after taking a long sip, she returned the bottle to the surface of the bar where the glass clinked gently. Then, she held out her hand to Serena.

“Go where?” A confused look overtook the longing on Serena’s face.

“I live in the flat upstairs.” Bernie smiled.

For a second, Serena wondered about the possible consequences of her actions, but then she decided Sian was right, she did deserve a little fun. Downing her Pink Flamingo in one gulp, she stood up, slipped her hand into Bernie’s and turning to see a very envious looking Sian standing on the dance floor, Serena waved at her friend.

She spun back around to face Bernie and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Lead the way.” 

Bernie pulled Serena towards a door that she hadn’t noticed before and entered a keycode onto the keypad at the side. The last thing Serena saw before the door closed behind them was the stunned, open-mouthed expression on Sian’s face. Serena had to give Sian her dues though, it had been a great idea to come out tonight.


End file.
